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The Prime Minister has criticized Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in areas of Handsworth, suggesting the politician was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Claims

The prime minister suggested that his comments were part of a stealth Conservative leadership campaign and said he did not believe they painted a true picture the neighborhood of the Birmingham district.

It’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously; he’s clearly still running his leadership campaign.

The shadow justice secretary has been accused of fuelling a wave of divisive sentiment after he doubled down on his complaint despite criticism from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, the former mayor.

Community Rejection and Defense

Starmer, who did not directly engage the statements, said he had supported Andy Street's criticisms of Jenrick.

• Street had told BBC Newsnight the comments were incorrect and described the area as a highly cohesive community.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, Starmer said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

Kemi Badenoch, defended him, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was no issue with noting realities.

But she also told BBC Breakfast: In my opinion, the discussion should not focus on the number or appearance of individuals seen on streets.

Party Divisions

The shadow chancellor became the first senior Tory to distance himself from his colleague over the comments, telling a Politico fringe event that they were phrases I would have avoided.

The MP repeatedly told interviewers at the conference that he stood by the remarks and did not resile from them as it would be wrong to end a crucial discussion that we have to have as a country about integration.

When a Sky News journalist put it to him that his remarks could embolden extremist organizations, he said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Initial Remarks

In his original remarks, the MP said Handsworth was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. Specifically, in the 90 minutes he was recording in the area he observed no other white individuals.

That’s not the kind of country I want to live in. I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. It’s not about the colour of your skin or your faith – of course it isn’t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives. That’s not the right way we want to live as a country.